Slow Me Down
by tsukikitty
Summary: A series of Neku/Rhyme writings to the song "Slow Me Down" by Emmy Rossum. Not intended to be a real songfic; The parts do kind of link together, but are meant to be read separately, as they're paired with their set of lyrics. T for mild swearing.


I love this song so much~ I like it for a few couples, but with NekuxRhyme I just HAD to write something for it.

Disclaimer: TWEWY belongs to Square Enix / Jupiter, not me. Dammit.

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_Rushing and racing_

_And running in circles_

_Moving so fast, I'm forgetting my purpose_

_Blur of the traffic is sending me spinning_

_Getting nowhere_

_My head and my heart are colliding, chaotic_

_Pace of the world_

_I just wish I could stop it_

_Try to appear like I've got it together_

_I'm falling apart_

_-_

Neku ambled silently through the busy streets of Shibuya. Left, right, forward, backward: Everywhere he turned there were people. The noise - not even sound, just senseless _noise_ - pounded relentlessly against his headphones, thrashing through the music that was attempting to soothe his racing mind. Had he not been "used to" this already, he surely would've been gripping his head and screaming, unable to take the nauseating blur of the world around him. However, he just continued his march through the crowds, head low, trying to focus on keeping his mind and body from collapsing in under the chaos. To any outsider catching a glance at the stoic teenager, he might have had everything under control. But that was so far from the truth that it was almost laughable.

Traffic light. Red.

He paused a moment at the side of the street, waiting alongside the flock of people around him for the cars to stop flying past. _3... 2... 1..._ The wave of bodies rushed forward across the crosswalk, packing in as close as possible for no particular reason. Voices, thoughts, opinions, sounds, music, laughter, words... The blaring discord all around grew violently louder and pulsed into his head. This was Shibuya. This was the world.

Sometimes, he just wished he could stop it.

-

_Save me_

_Somebody take my hand, and lead me_

_Slow me down_

_Don't let love pass me by_

_Just show me how_

_'Cause I'm ready to fall_

_Slow me down_

_Don't let me live a lie_

_Before my life flies by_

_I need you to slow me down_

_-_

He barely knew the girl. He barely knew her, and yet here he was, missing her so much that his heart practically _ached_ just thinking about it. He could see her... She held out her hand, and he held out his... He was ready to entwine their fingers and be led away from everything these past few days had shot at him... The white all around them seemed to blur into slow motion, and he could almost _taste_ the fresh air that he knew he would soon be breathing...

With a slight gasp, he jerked awake as the reality of "life" whirred back into him. He looked around. Here he was again, back at the Scramble, love and life and laughter passing him by in the daze of the familiar city. Trying desperately to recall his dream, he reclosed his eyes. He was on the edge of this Game, the very _edge_ of this whole thing, and he just wanted to fall. To just lean forward, and let himself _fall_. The slowing sensation momentarily returned to him - he felt it in his fingers, his feet, his head - but before he knew it, the whirlwind of Shibuya was clawing at him again, and he had no choice but to open his eyes once more. _Damn._ With a sigh, he shoved his hands into his pockets and prepared to start the long trudge through the new Day. He knew this wasn't real. He _knew_ this was all just a lie. But life was flying by him, and there was nothing he could do to slow it down. There was nothing he could do but keep moving forward...

-

_Sometimes I fear that I might disappear_

_In the blur of fast forward I falter again_

_Forgetting to breathe, I need to sleep_

_I'm getting nowhere_

_All that I've missed I see in the reflection_

_Passed me while I wasn't paying attention_

_Tired of rushing, racing and running_

_I'm falling apart_

_-_

Neku cringed as he gingerly touched a fingertip to his arm where the Noise had cut him. He glanced over at his partner, who was bent over with her hands on her knees, panting and gasping for air. Just survive, he told himself. Don't disappear. He was here to win.

He forced himself to take a deep breath, letting the heavy air rush into his lungs with startling force. After briefly closing his eyes, he took a look around. This was Shibuya. The same city. The same lives blurring into a haze around him as he struggled through his own "life." He was so _sick_ of this. Really, why couldn't it just stop? He was so _tired_...

With a clench of his fist and a short sigh that he didn't even have the energy to make bitter, Neku slid down the nearest wall.

He was falling apart.

-

_Tell me_

_Oh won't you take my hand and lead me_

_Slow me down_

_Don't let love pass me by _

_Just show me how_

_'Cause I'm ready to fall_

_Slow me down_

_Don't let me live a lie_

_Before my life flies by_

_I need you to slow me down_

_Just show me_

_I need you to slow me down_

_-_

It was a few days later - or was it? All of the past Days had melded into one big nightmare by now - and he found himself lost in his thoughts again. And, oddly enough, he found her there again.

Her hat was on the ground beside him, and he wanted to pick it up and return it to her. But, for some reason, he knew that he couldn't get close to her. He knew that there was an invisible wall in front of him that would prevent him from getting within five steps of the girl, and it made him so _angry_. All he wanted to do was give her her goddamned hat back! And yet...

With a start, his eyes shot open and he bolted upright. Ah, he'd been dreaming. Figures... He stretched his arms out before pushing off the ground to stand. He had barely gotten to his feet before he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. Looked like they were in for another whirlwind of a Day to fly by.

But it was okay, because he was so close. He was _so_ close. He was on the edge, for real, this time - or, as real as this could be - and he could _just barely_ see over it; Just enough to know that there was something there worth falling for.

-

_The noise of the world is getting me caught up_

_Chasing the clock and I wish I could stop it_

_Just need to breathe, somebody please_

_Slow me down_

_-_

It was finally over. Finally, _finally_, he had emerged from the depths of that hellish nonexistence and stepped back into the world. The best part was, though, strangely, was that he wasn't alone: They were all with him! And now, here they were, together at Hachiko, smiling and waving and, my God, _smiling_! There was noise - _noise_, with a lowercase "n," the meaning of the word that he had almost forgotten in those three weeks - all around them, the sounds of the city, and it all felt so real, because it _was_ real. All that time chasing his life, his memories... Running after time itself, racing the clock through hell and back again...

Grinning from ear to ear with the first genuine happiness he had felt in who knows how long, Neku held up a hand in greeting as two blonde-headed figures approached him. The shorter of the two broke into a sprint as soon as she caught sight of him, and before he knew it he was talking with her and she was smiling and he was happier than he had been just a moment before, because he could _touch_ her. She was right there in front of him, and this time he could reach out and actually touch her. There was no wall, no shark, no obstacles to stop him.

And that was all he needed just then, because time had slowed again, and he could finally breathe in the air of This Wonderful World.

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I hope you enjoyed it! Thanks for reading~

Reviews are SUPER DUPER loved and appreciated, like woah. :)


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